More than 200 people showed up for the Jefferson R-7 Board of Education special meeting held Tuesday (April 23), a week after the district announced that Superintendent Clint Johnston began a leave of absence.
It’s unknown whether the leave was voluntary and whether Johnston is being paid during the leave, and district officials have refused to answer those questions.
Johnston could not be reached for comment, and neither interim Superintendent Cindy Holdinghausen nor board president Wayne Surratt have returned calls requesting further information.
The Leader has sent Sunshine Law requests for more information about Johnston’s leave, with no success.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, members of a group called Concerned Citizens of R-7 collected 201 signatures for a petition expressing a lack of confidence in four of the seven board members.
“We told people when they signed that this is not a legal document; we can’t file it (with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office) and there’s no way we can use it to remove someone from the board,” said Lynne Jackson, a former board member and one of the group’s organizers. “It’s just a way for us to send a clear message to the board that we are very unhappy with their conduct.”
Once the meeting opened, the board voted 6-1 to allow a 30-minute period for public comments, during which district patrons, staff and students were allowed two minutes each to address the board and the crowd of about 125 people packed into the high school library. Tracey Perry voted against allowing the public comments.
Most speakers said they were frustrated with the lack of information about Johnston’s leave.
“If you have a valid reason, let us know,” said May Albano. “If you don’t, bring him back.”
After the public comments, board members voted 4-3 to enter into closed session. Members Kelly Becherer, Shane Wolk and Jimmy Jackson voted “no,” and Becherer stipulated his objection be entered into the meeting minutes, saying, “I do not believe the district has proper legal representation in this meeting.”
Dave Senkel of the Thurman Law Firm, the board’s attorney of record, did not attend the closed session meeting.
While the closed session was held in a conference room elsewhere in the high school, many of the visitors stayed in the library talking informally and asking former board members about policy and procedure.
District resident Meg Ebersoldt said the issue has become about more than just Johnston’s absence.
“It appears some members of the board may have been trying to circumvent the processes in place and exploit loopholes that advance their cause,” she said. “Maybe you need to go in and examine the polices and processes that make this kind of situation possible, and put new policies in place to prevent it happening again.”
More than 30 people were still in the library when the board returned to open session and adjourned at 11:55 p.m. without comment.
A second special meeting held Wednesday evening (April 24) drew at least 100 people. The board went straight into a closed session, after a 7-0 vote, and returned to open session at about 9:30 p.m. to adjourn, again without comment.
Former board member Pete McPeters, another Concerned Citizens organizer, said he was pleased with the turnout both nights.
“There were a lot of people here, and a lot of them are angry and frustrated,” he said. “But everyone was polite and courteous, and there wasn’t any hint of disturbance.
“We hope this has brought to light for the board the fact that there are a lot of people in the district who feel we deserve to know what’s happening, and that could be done without compromising anyone’s privacy. The board needs to step up here. There are a lot of people watching.”